David Wilk
STARS AND THEIR STORIES
Solstice
they came here
bearing gifts
as it was said
they were
traveling from distant lands
so it was said
or was remembered to have said
by elderly members
of a forgotten family
or clan
or the skyward looking
seer who led them
as if going alone
into the darkness
could ever be enough
as if the act of remembering
could ever be enough
so it was said
some long ago day
in the coldest night
of any year in memory
of the eldest among us
as it was said
any star that could be seen
through the darkness
and thus
to know the future
as each talismanic effort
to find a passage to another world
is thwarted by
dust and blood
as it was said
because the storyteller did not
or could not
say
why
or how
"this is what we know now”
“this is certain”
“this is true"
such is memory
so full of timelessness
such is mystery
so empty of
certainty
as the cracks
in the ice on a frozen lake
in moonlight
can be read as a map
of prayers
repeated
and
never
answered
or that what they
those who came before us
believed could be believed in
or that bearing gifts might ever be enough
or thought to be
or that magic could be enabled
as it is said
by words, deeds, or simply
telling our stories out loud
to the moon and stars
with tears and anger
and desperation
enough
as it is said
to enlighten each listener
tall tales might be
well told
will that suffice
for those who remain
let that be enough
for the frozen memory
the stars that cross the sky
and the children
bearing gifts
wishing for their memories to be reborn
December 2017
Solstice
they came here
bearing gifts
as it was said
they were
traveling from distant lands
so it was said
or was remembered to have said
by elderly members
of a forgotten family
or clan
or the skyward looking
seer who led them
as if going alone
into the darkness
could ever be enough
as if the act of remembering
could ever be enough
so it was said
some long ago day
in the coldest night
of any year in memory
of the eldest among us
as it was said
any star that could be seen
through the darkness
and thus
to know the future
as each talismanic effort
to find a passage to another world
is thwarted by
dust and blood
as it was said
because the storyteller did not
or could not
say
why
or how
"this is what we know now”
“this is certain”
“this is true"
such is memory
so full of timelessness
such is mystery
so empty of
certainty
as the cracks
in the ice on a frozen lake
in moonlight
can be read as a map
of prayers
repeated
and
never
answered
or that what they
those who came before us
believed could be believed in
or that bearing gifts might ever be enough
or thought to be
or that magic could be enabled
as it is said
by words, deeds, or simply
telling our stories out loud
to the moon and stars
with tears and anger
and desperation
enough
as it is said
to enlighten each listener
tall tales might be
well told
will that suffice
for those who remain
let that be enough
for the frozen memory
the stars that cross the sky
and the children
bearing gifts
wishing for their memories to be reborn
December 2017